Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-07-06
Misfeltaneu,ts &eadina.

Miseeltaneons &eading.
A CHRISTIAN NATlON---A CHRISTIAN
GOVERNMENT.
In our view there is no such thing
as a Christian nation, or as Christian
government, nor is it possible that
there should be any such thing as
either of them. We can conceive of
such a thing as a nation composed
wholly of Christian people, exclud-
ing, of course, according to our Baptist
ideas, all who, by reason of tender
years or for other cause, are incapa-
BILE of Christian faith; but the nation
itself taken as unit, can neither be
Christian nor unchristian. There
might be a government administered
wholly by Christian men, by the
government itself, being merely a
secular arrangement of purposes, and
being wholly incapable Of Christian
experience, but it cannot possibly be
Christian. AS well speak of a Chris
tian banking company, or Christian
Idl1ocIo VI u SAllotAoN SOW. nAAt'
Religion is not national affair it is
purely a private matter; 1t refers TO;
our personal relation to a personal
God; each man renders his own ac-
count and not another's.
We should be glad to see a nation
Of Christians, so far as such thing is
possible; but so long as children are
born with depraved natures, no ma
tion can be composed wholly of Chris
tian people. We should be glad to
see government administered Who'll
ly by Christian men. But these de-
sirable ends cannot be brought about
by passing resolutions, or by legal
enactments, or by constitutional
amendments. If the Constitution of
the United States were to declare
that the Bible is the Word of God,
and that it is our only rule of faith
and practice, and that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God and the Saviour of
mankind, the people of the United
States would be no better than they
are now. There would be no more
genuine Christians among us; the
standard of piety and good morals
would not be elevated. The Jews
and some others would, of course,
object; and we should be obliged
either to allow them to treat our
Constitution with scorn and con-
tempt, and in fact, to trample it un-
der foot, or to force them into sub.
mission by punishment. We should
be obliged either to fine them, or
subject them to some severe disabil-
ity, or put them in the penitentiary
or in the chain-gang, or hang them.
Perhaps some of them might propose
to hang US. We do not think that
it would promote the cause of true
religion to force any such issue. AS
Baptists we shall forever protest
against anything which interferes
with soul liberty; for this is our
grand watch-word. AS Baptists we
shall forever contend for individual
ism in religion /; for this is our most
distinguishing characteristic. AS a
parent cannot repent and believe for
his child, but for himself only, and
as a king cannot be religious proxy
for his subjects, so neither can Re-
public possess faith for its citizens.
Each man must do this for himself,
and no man can do it for another.
AS Baptists we shall do our best to
bring all the people in the whole
world to Christ; but we shall do this
only by faithful and earnest preach
ing of the gospel, by argument and
by persuasion and prayer. We GER
tainly shall ask no aid from legisla-
tion. The kind Of religion that we
preach cannot be legislated into peo-
pie. AS Baptists we shall forever
contend for the complete separation
of Church and State. We are willing
to render to Caesar the things that are
Cesar's, but never will we render to
Caesar the things that are Gods.
True religion needs no aid from the
State. A religion which does need
aid from the State is spurious, and
the sooner it goes by the board the
better. AS citizens of the State we
have a right to the protection of the
State, in the exercise of such religion
as we may prefer, whether Christian
or not; or, in the absence of all reli-
gion, which is the case, we are sorry
to say, with vast numbers of our
people. So long as any man, wheth-
er religious or irreligious, violates
no duty of citizenship, he is entitled
to protection. But this is all he is
entitled to. He has no right to ask
the State to enforce his views of
religious truth and religious obliga-
tion on any of his felloW-citizens.
There is in the United States what
is called the National Reform Asso-
citation. Its object is to urge the
adoption Of an amendment to the
Constitution which shall declare that
thisisa Christian nation, and that the
Bible is a part of the law of the land.
Our statement may not be accurate,
for we have nodocuments before US,
but we think we have not lnisstated
the drift and intent of the amend
ment proposed. From whathas been
said it will be seen that we are not
in sympathy with the movement.
1t is one of the isms recently brought
here, among others, from higher
latitude, and which we hope will not
take root in Southern soil.-Christian